


I don't trust myself when I'm around you

by HydenLynch



Category: Scooby Doo - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Thanks, of 13th ghost, so lets all agree that this is the official canon ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-09
Updated: 2019-06-09
Packaged: 2020-04-23 05:15:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19144297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HydenLynch/pseuds/HydenLynch
Summary: The Jo Bro's album dropped yesterday and it put me in a fluffy mood so wrote this.This is the ending we all deserved for Curse of the 13th Ghost and yes I will always be salty about that.





	I don't trust myself when I'm around you

Daphne can't seem to stop biting her lip.

Barely even registering the sting until Freddie so kindly points out that her lip is bleeding; she manages to brush this off as being caused by the damn avalanche she survived just a few days ago.

She is currently lounging on the couch in the living room of the house the four of them share, the aforementioned blond sitting beside her.

He's been spending the past couple of days since they arrived home trying to track down the love of his life, whom he was forced to part with in a garage sale. Daph didn't see much point in reminding him that they had a perfectly fine stick shift sitting in their garage right now. The whole clutch/emergency brake fiasco has left him bitter.

Velma had only emerged from the home office maybe twice all day - both of those times being Shaggy forcing her to eat something before the wind blew her away.

Shag and Scoob had been known to just set up shop in the kitchen for most of the day. Saved a lot of back and forth from their bedroom to the fridge. Scooby had already somehow opened the door and was dragging out any leftover that was in sight.

Shag, on the other hand, was sitting at the kitchen table staring down at his hands.

Which was enough to tell Daph that his mind was racing.

All of this business with Vincent had dredged up bad memories for the both of them. The second Daphne laid her head down on her own pillow her mind was instantly plagued with the thought, "The 13th Ghost is still out there..."

And at that point Daph had abandoned the idea of sleep.

She can't speak for Shag but she's certain she's seen the kitchen light on until the wee hours of the morning.

But this isn't the thing that affects Daphne the most; she'd spent almost nine years thinking about that 13th ghost they never found. The thing that bothered Daphne was the feelings she had buried for nearly a decade.

-

She was in the dark, falling yet floating at the same time, never reaching the ground.

Someone was calling her name and she could hear the urgency in their voice, the worry.

Something rough and wet ran up her cheek and she was immediately back in the light, taking in a deep gulp of air. That worried voice calling her name let out a relived chuckle and placed a large hand on her shoulder, helping her sit up.

That was the first time Daphne had ever seen Shaggy cry on her behalf.

Not even turning into a werewolf and chasing him down the tunnels brought tears to his eyes.

She hadn't forgotten any of it. Every little detail about that moment was imprinted in her mind and it was all telling her one thing.

'He cares for you.'

'You care for him.'

And the second that realization came to her, Daphne pushed it back to the furthest corner of her mind - praying that she'd forget all about it.

She wasn't very good at doing that.

It didn't take her all but a few hours to have her fingers tangled up in his hair while hoping that no canines or con-children or warlocks barged in on them.

For those few, blissful, months Daphne was absolutely giddy.

Every waking moment was spent with the boy she now knows she also cares about a great deal. Due to the constant entourage, physical contact was kept at a minimum; but even without the touching Daphne's heart was full. Every time they did so much as hold eye contact for longer than five seconds she felt like her chest was about to burst.

'What is this?'

She'd ask herself, already knowing damn well what it was.

But then the stress started to press down on them, and they found themselves being overwhelmed by the nightmares. No amount of embracing or kissing could calm it down.

They practically got down on their knees and begged Vincent to just let it be over, they were just kids and they couldn't take it anymore.

Perhaps he saw how broken they had become, already fragile to begin with.

But when they returned to Coolsville, Daphne didn't get the happy boyfriend and girlfriend lifestyle she had been dreaming of since she first kissed him.

Who cares if she shows up back home hand in hand with Shaggy Rogers, subverting everyone's expectations? She'd simply brush all of the questions off, because she wanted that gangly babbler all to herself.

Instead, he locked himself up in his room and didn't seem interested in talking.

Not to her.

Not to his family.

Not even to Scooby.

Fred and Velma didn't return from their camps for another several weeks.

Still, Daph kept calling, nearly everyday. His family had gotten well acquainted with her over the phone, always having to softly tell her that Shaggy wasn't up to leaving his bed at the moment.

Which was every moment.

Of every day.

During this time boys would ask her out on dates, and while most of her wanted to say no, her prime reason for saying no wasn't speaking to her.

So she spent her summer bowling and roller skating and eating Italian food, only to return home late at night and cry when the boy she wanted still wouldn't come to the phone.

It was two weeks until summer came to a close when Shag's mom said, "Oh yes he's right here.... Norville! Daphne Blake's on the line!"

"....Hi..."

The moment she heard his voice her heart nearly popped out of her chest.

"Shags!!! Oh my gosh I've been so worried about you!!"

She hears a soft chuckle and the corners of her lips go straight up; that chuckle outshines any date she went on in the past two months.

"Like, I've just been strapped to my bed at the ol' Rogers' Kook House."

"Do - do you uh..... Do you wanna go get some burgers? Last week Ricky McMasters took me to this new little joint that make these cool veggie burgers."

"Are you for real?"

"100% sweetheart."

The excitement in his voice is causing her face and ears to go warm.

"Sign me the hell up!"

And so they met at the restaurant and ordered, they talked and laughed and Daphne found herself hardly touching her food.

It was when she made a grab for his hand that things finally went wrong.

He dodged, locking eyes with her as his cheeks went red

"Shag.. wha- what's wrong?"

She schooches her chair closer.

He moves his further back.

And then he looks down at his hands on the table.

It's silent for a few moments and Daph realizes she's absolutely terrified.

Mainly because she knows what's about to happen.

After he sucks in a deep breath he begins, still looking down at the table, ""Daph... those months we spent... together were some of the best months of my life." Daphne smiles.

"Same here."

He licks his lips before continuing, "And, during all of that I was convinced I was ready. Ready to stop holding my breath and just love you."

Her heartbeat drops to her stomach. How long was he in love with her?  And, a much better question, how long was she in love with him?

Shag's fingers begin to clench around the tablecloth, "Vincent was promising us that he'd take care of the last ghost and all I could think was that I got a whole summer left to be with you." She wants so desperately to say 'Me too." But chooses not to interrupt him.

"But then," His voice is going soft and she can tell he's trying to be gentle, "When we did finally get home the nightmares didn't stop. The fear that something was out there and after me - after you - didn't go away."

Finally, he brings his gaze up to her and those brown eyes leave her so weak, so vulnerable, "How could I deal with all of this, cope with and get it under control and love you at the same time? I'm seventeen for fucks sake. I still brake at a yellow light and get an allowance."

Suddenly, she get's it.

All those dates and all that crying had been her "coping" of sorts but had she really gotten anywhere waiting day after day for Shag to pick up the phone?

He can probably see the tears welling in her eyes because he leans forward to whisper, "Just.... give me some time. Could be a week could be a month, hell, it could be a year but maybe when I'm ready... we can try this again. Without ending up as each other's therapy dogs."

She giggles and feels a tear roll down her cheek, "Yeah, " she sniffles, "I'd like that."

-

Now she was leaning over him as he tapped his fingers against the hard wood of the table.

"Having fun?" She says softly, he looks up at her with a smirk.

"Just peachy Miss Blake."

"Well I am just glad to hear that." She pulls out a chair and chuckles as their banter picks up an exaggerated Southern drawl.

They sit there for what seems like forever just giggling and looking at each other before Daph musters up the bravery to break the quiet, "Nine years huh?"

And even though it is the most cryptic and simple phrase, Shag's face goes beet red and she know he understands what she's saying. Because only Shaggy Rogers could understand something as basic as two words implying so much more. It's then that Daphne knows shoving those feelings down to the back of her mind hadn't stopped a thing.

If anything, they've grown, matured and are much more powerful.

Maybe sixteen year old her had wanted to only wait a week but now she was thankful to have grown into this love she holds for him

Now she wonders if he'd let her kiss him, and would she ever bother to come up for air?

Or would she just let herself suffocate, only able to comprehend the shape of him?

He rubs the back of his neck, acutely aware of her biting her lip, "It's funny... like before all this craziness with Farmer Morgan I was gonna ask you if you wanted to go to that same burger place again. Like, they've got a whole menu of veggie burgers now. I hear they have one that's just a stuffed mushroom! Doesn't that sound fucking extraordinary?!"

As his eyes begin to sparkle and his lips flap, blabbing on about food, Daphne reaches up and grabs either side of his face, bringing them nose to nose.

He lets out a soft gasp, Daph's heartbeat is pounding around in her head, "If I say yes, will you finally kiss me?"

His face is red again and she is 100% sure her's is even worse.

"Keep in mind I will say yes regardless of what you-"

Shaggy doesn't even let her finish the sentence, only letting give out a soft "Mmph!" in surprise.

Nine years in the making and Daphne can definitely say it was worth the wait.


End file.
